Rural as Periphery Per Se? Unravelling the Discursive Node

Abstract

Despite often being used interchangeably, the dominant equation of the rural with the peripheral is not self-evident. In order to critically scrutinize the discursive node, the aim of this article is twofold. On one hand, it argues for overcoming the prevalent urban‒rural divide and dominant structural approaches in sociological and geographical research by introducing discursive peripheralization as a conceptual framework, which allows the analysis of the discursive (re-)production of socio-spatial inequalities on and between different scales. On the other hand, this article explores how rural areas are constituted as peripheries within a hegemonic discourse naturalizing the ascription of development (non-)potentials. Following a critical discourse analysis approach, this will be illustrated in the case of periphery constructions in Estonian national print media.

Narratives of peripheralisation: Place, agency and generational cohorts in post-industrial Estonia

“…Despite diverging opinions on the future development and cooperation with Russia, the participants concurred in the concluding discussion that multiple economic and social problems prevented Narva from becoming a ‘normal average European town’; the main reason for this lay in the lack of entrepreneurship, with the local population conceived as passive and missing the ‘right attitude’, laying the responsibility for the development on them (fieldwork notes 7 October 2011). Consequently, the negative depiction of peripheral areas as passive and marginal that has been noted by researchers (Plüschke-Altof, 2016; Trell et al, 2012) obtained additional ethnic and class dimensions in the case of Narva.…”

“…In a recent contribution, Timar and Velky have argued against the ‘depoliticising and dematerialising effect’ of the cultural turn in regional geography (Timár and Velkey, 2016: 321; cf. Plüschke-Altof, 2016) and called for a renewed focus on the political production of the conditions within which interpretations are situated. Using a multiscalar approach to peripheralisation, the paper responds to this call.…”

Disentangling Environmental and Development Discourses in a Peripheral Spatial Context: The Case of the Aysén Region, Patagonia, Chile

“…In this research, we emphasized environmental and development discourses constructed by the periphery, rather than focusing on how the periphery is being framed by the core or by the media (e.g. Plu¨schke-Altof, 2016). In this attempt, we identified local narratives that are commonly conveyed throughout the Ays en region, thus shedding light on the local agency and on the active role of local agents in reshaping socio-spatial relations (Willett & Lang, 2018).…”

“…By consequence, meanings ascribed through discursive (re)productions are pertinent to the social construction of socio-spatial relationships and therefore influencing (de-)peripheralization processes (cf. Plüschke-Altof, 2016).…”

Leading Through Image Making? On the Limits of Emphasising Agency in Structurally Disadvantaged Rural Places

“…By focusing on the (re-)production of uneven spatial developments, this approach urges us to question why certain types of spaces, such as the rural areas studied here, are more prone to peripheralisation than others (Keim 2006). While not all rural areas are necessarily peripheral, rurality is often associated with peripherality, mirroring not only existing material difficulties but also the dominant stigmatisation of rural places, especially in Central and Eastern Europe (Fischer-Tahir and Naumann 2013; Kay et al 2012;Plüschke-Altof 2016). Moreover, as a processual concept, peripheralisation has the potential to include the room for manoeuvre of local actors (Kühn 2015).…”